2. Ecosystem
A community of living organisms and their relationship with their physical environment
We choose a site
on the hill
The river
Altitude
decreases
Habitat
characteristic:
1. Dry
2. Has more
perennial trees
3. Cooler
3. We measured
the trees and
small plants
Our site
I found my plant-
bamboo here
I found my animal –
caterpillar here
Big trees
Small plants
and bushes
Fallen tree
trunk
4. Trail where people
walk has no trees or
small plant
Lower ground
Rain washed away the
soil because there are
no trees to hold it.
110
cm
120
cm
130
cm
130
cm
80
cm
57
cm
The plants in the
lower ground is
shorter because
they receive less
sunlight
Average growth of small
plant (height): 104.5cm
5. 148
cm 147
cm
103.5
cm
69
cm
160
cm
57
cm 124
cm
47
cm
Average growth of
trees (circumference):
106.9cm
The perennial trees
leaves fall to the
ground and become
nutrient for
themselves and
other plants
The perennial
trees are surround
by small plants
8. Day 1
River water Caterpillar Bamboo Mushroom
Taste Slightly salty - Tasteless -
Smell -
Smell of chicken
farm
- Like rain water
Hear
Flowing water
sound
-
Sound of a hollow
tube when knocked
-
See Clear
Bright orange and
black
A lot of leaves
A cluster of mushroom
on a dead root
Feel Sandy and cold Soft and fragile Smooth like marble
Like carpet and slightly
moist
9. Day 2
Lake water Dead leaves Flower Soil Tree bark
Taste
Fiber drinks
taste
Hard to chew Sweet Slightly salty Slightly bitter
Smell - Decay smell
Shampoo
smell
Smell of rain
water
Smell of wood
Hear -
Broom sweeping
sound when stepped
- -
Sound of cicada
on the trees
See
Cloudy and
brown in colour
Brown and in pieces
Colourful and
a lot of ants
on it
Bright orange
Brown and
covered with
wrinkles
Feel
Muddy at the
bottom
Dry and crunchy
Soft and
turgid
Granular and
dry
Rough and
crunchy
11. My Animal - Caterpillar
There are 2100species of
caterpillar around the world
Biological classification of
living organisms
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Arthrpoda
Class : Insecta
Order : Lepidoptera
Family : Papilionnidae
Commonly known as
Swallowtail Caterpillar
12. My Animal – Life Cycle
Life
cycle
Egg
Caterpillar
Pupa
Butterfly
Caterpillar is the larvae
form of butterfly
Butterfly lays eggs on the leave
of a plant that only the
caterpillar eats
A hard protective casing for
caterpillar to undergo
metamorphosis into butterfly
The whole cycle
usually takes up 4-
8 weeks
Swallowtail pupa
are typically
attached to a
substrate by silk
13. Caterpillar is
an
insect, thus it
has only 3
pairs of true
legs
Anal clasper
and prolegs
act like sucker
and help the
caterpillar to
climb
Head
True legs
Proleg
s
My Animal - Anatomy
Anal clasper
Abdominal segment Thoracic segment
Caterpillar has
4000muscles
while human only have
629 muscles.
248 muscles in the
head
14. My Animal - Strategy of Survival
Osmeterium
A bright-coloured flesh that evert on the
caterpillar head when threathened. It emits
foul smell to ward off predators.
It is a signature defense mechanism of
Swallowtail caterpillar
Appearance
Startling appearance and bright
colour as warning to predator
that they may be poisonous.
Movement
Thrash around
when captured to
attempt an escape
from predators
Swallowtail Caterpillar
Eat up to 27000
times of its own
weight and increase
body mass by
1000times.
15. My Animal – Strategy of Survival
Other Caterpillar
16. 1. Camouflage
Caterpillar resemble the
surrounding environment to avoid
being spot by predators
Caterpillar of Comma Butterfly
resemble bird dropping to avoid
being prey by birds
17. 2. Poisonous
The caterpillar extracts the toxin
from their host plant (the plant they
eat)
and process it into their own venom.
Lonomia obliqua and Lonomia achelous are
caterpillars in Brazil that produce toxin that can cause
severe internal hemorrhage and death in human after
24 hours.
The death rate caused by these caterpillars is 2.5%.
18. 3. Behavior
Amorpha juglandis makes high pitched
whistles ranging from 9 kHz to 22 kHz to
scare away predators
The whistle last for 44 to 2060 ms and
comprise of 1 to 8 whistles.
19. Psychidae caterpillar or commonly known as Bagworms construct cases
from natural materials such as twigs to hide in.
4. Protective Case
21. My Plant - Bamboo
Kingdom : Plantae
Phylum : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Order : Poales
Family : Poaceae
Bamboo is a grass, not a tree.
There are 1000species of
bamboo in the world.
22. My Plant - Anatomy
Stem
Culm
Node
Bamboo is hollow on the
inside.
Each section or culm is
divided by nodes.
23. My Plant - Anatomy
Root
Runner roots have been documented to
travel over
20 feet (6.096 meter)
in a single season underground.
Bamboo root is a rhizome root. It can be
categorized as running roots and
clumipng root.
24. My Plant - Anatomy
Leaves
The leaves are hard to chew
and not delicious to prevent
herbivores from consuming
them.
26. 1. Mass Seeding
Bamboo of the same stock
around the world flowers at
the same time and die.
Flowering of bamboo occurs
once every 20 to 120 years. It
is a rare occurrence.
27. 2. Strong Structure
Strong root to
support the
plant and
prevent it from
collapsing
High tensile
strength of
28000 kg/
inches
and steel has
23000 kg/
inches
28. 3. Fast Growing
255.3 cm 300cm
Bamboo can grow
up to
39 inches
(100cm)
in 24 hours.
I measured the
bamboo height in
my site
30. Day 1
• Late departure due to some problem.
• Bought breakfast for those who want it at the roadside
• Arrived at the Riverstone Eco Resort
• Loading luggages
31. SelectingSite
ExploringSite
CollectingData
•Explore the whole area
•List out suitable site –
hill and lakeside
•Takes photos and videos
•More detailed photos
•Collect samples
•Choose individual plant
and animal species
•Plan out video
storyboard
Exploration
Did not manage to do
because
1. Wrong
understanding of
brief
2. Wasted too much
time
My animal - caterpillar
34. Final Site Observation
Collect Data
•Measure trees and small plants
•Take introduction and conclusion video
•Recorded 5 senses experience
•Drew sketches
37. Reference
Photo by
Tan Shing Yeou
J-sern Phua
caterpillar. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved
from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/99429/caterpillar. Accessed 18 May 2013
swallowtail butterfly. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved
from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/576193/swallowtail-butterfly. Accessed 18 May 2013
Caterpillar survival strategy. (2013). Wild life Insight. Retrieved from
http://www.wildlifeinsight.com/Insight/?page_id=4193. Accessed 18 May 2013
Caterpillar Anatomy. (2013) Wildlife Insight. Retrieved from http://www.wildlifeinsight.com/Insight/?page_id=4187.
Accessed 18 May 2013
Caterpillar Life-cycle. (2013) Wildlife Insight. Retrieved from http://www.wildlifeinsight.com/Insight/?page_id=4190.
Accessed 18 May 2013
